Where Is Autism Employment Heading in 2017?

Where is employment for adults with autism and other neurodiverse (developmental and learning) differences heading in 2017? What employment assistance or initiatives offer the greatest promise? If you want to help someone you know who is part of the neurodiverse workforce, what should you be doing in 2017? The current year saw a range of employment initiatives, most of them extra-governmental, often driven by the energy of persons on the autism spectrum, advocates, and parents. These initiatives might be grouped among three primary strategies. “Autism at Work” and other targeted hiring and retention efforts by large employers: Microsoft’s “Autism at Work” initiative has been the highest profile effort in 2016 by a major employer, targeting recruitment of adults on the spectrum and retention structures. But 2016 also has seen the growth of the Autism at Work initiative by software giant SAP, as well as targeted autism employment initiatives at several other prominent tech firms: Salesforce, Google, Cable Labs, Hewlett Packard and CollabNet. Firms outside of tech are developing autism employment initiatives, often in partnership with Specialisterne, the consulting firm specializing in autism employment. Among these non-tech employers in 2016 have been Best Buy, Deloitte, Willis Towers Watson and Ford Motor.

David Wingate is an elder law attorney at the Elder Law Office of David Wingate, LLC. The elder law office services clients with powers of attorneys, living wills, Wills, Trusts, Medicaid and asset protection. The Elder Law office has locations in Frederick and Montgomery Counties, Maryland.